By JOHN HICKEY, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, May 13, 2007

The Mariners made an effort to add more power to their bullpen Sunday when they completed a trade with Cleveland for Jason Davis.

A one-time starter who has been working out of the bullpen the past two seasons, Davis throws a fastball in the 96-98 mph range.

Manager Mike Hargrove is familiar with Davis, who will cost the Mariners a player to be named later, from the time he was working with the Indians.

"I saw him pitch in the big leagues and at Buffalo when I was there in 2004," Hargrove said. "He's a big, tall guy who throws hard. And you can't get too many power arms in your bullpen."

Although the 6-foot-6 Davis (18-22 with a 4.69 ERA in big league career that dates to 2002) has been a starter in the past, Hargrove said there is no plan to use him as one.

For the moment, Felix Hernandez comes off the disabled list to start Tuesday's game, and Cha Seung Baek, who had been Hernandez's replacement while he was on the DL, sticks around to take Jeff Weaver's spot in the rotation.

"He's (Davis) got a fastball, a split and a little slider," Hargrove said. "He can get it up there at 97-98 (mph). And he can pitch comfortably at 92-95."

THE LITTLEST HIT: The Mariners got nine hits off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte on Sunday, including an RBI single from Raul Ibanez in the third that put the Mariners in front to stay.

As big a hit as any, however, was a bunt single in the fourth by Yuniesky Betancourt. He telegraphed that he'd be bunting, fouled one off, then put down a bunt of such majesty he was able to beat it out.

That loaded the bases and brought up Jose Lopez, who got Seattle its second and final run.

"That was a great bunt by Yuni," Ibanez said.

Hargrove, who put in a series of bunting drills in spring training, also saluted the bunt.

"That was a perfect bunt by Yuni," he said. "He showed them it was coming; he didn't try to fool them. But he still beat it out, which is hard to do when they know it's coming."

The Mariners got just two hits the rest of the game. Thanks to the pitching of Horacio Ramirez and the bullpen, Seattle wouldn't need more.

TIP SHEET: Miguel Batista came out of Saturday's start convinced he'd been tipping his pitches.

The Yankees beat him up pretty good -- 10 hits and seven earned runs while he got just seven outs in a 7-2 loss.

"There's no doubt I was tipping," he said Sunday. "I'm sure of it."

After the game and again Sunday, he and pitching coach Rafael Chaves looked at video and believe they spotted what the Yankees were spotting.

"The way they were reacting to pitches, you'd have to think they were seeing something," Chaves said. "They were on every pitch for 15 or 20 pitches. It all happened so quick."

Chaves said that the problem wasn't in Batista's motion, but in his setup. With a change in his setup, the hope is he'll be able to continue to throw with the same motion.

"He threw a lot of good pitches," Chaves said. "When you throw decent pitches on the corner and at a decent height and they all get hit, you start to wonder what's going on.

"He did a tremendous job (five days earlier) against the Yankees in New York. He threw one of his best games of the year (6 1/3 innings, two runs), and then they did that. But those guys are great hitters. They adjust."

LONG TIME THROWING: Eric O'Flaherty's mom, Georgia, couldn't make it to Safeco Field on Sunday.

Not only does she have a broken foot, her mother, Joan, was ill Saturday and needed some tending. So she wasn't there to see her son pitch a career-high 4 2/3 innings Saturday and retire 14 of the 15 Yankees batters he faced.

"I'm getting her all new furniture for the house," O'Flaherty said. "The only thing is, I don't know if she'll take it. But I hope she will. It's Mother's Day."

WAITING FOR THE WORD: Ryan Rowland-Smith will be the first major league player with a hyphenated last name -- if he gets into a game, that is.

Rowland-Smith, who is Australian, is not sure when that will happen. He told his mom not to make the trip from Australia's east coast to the Pacific Northwest.

She could have arrived Sunday morning, but Rowland-Smith looked at the odds of his being on the Seattle roster past Sunday and told her to hold off. Hernandez is due to come off the DL on Tuesday, and it's a pretty good bet that Rowland-Smith, who was called up Friday, will be the odd man out.

"You've got to be realistic," he said. "They are going to activate Felix, and they have to make a move. ... I told my mother to hold off, because I don't know where I'm going to be.

"If I'm still on the roster on Tuesday, then we can think about her coming over for a longer stretch."

With Davis also joining the team Tuesday or Wednesday, rookie Sean Green may join Rowland-Smith in heading back to Tacoma.

A LEAGUE APART: Lois Youngen, a catcher and outfielder in a four-year career in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League -- the AAGPBL was the subject of the movie "A League Of Their Own" -- threw out the first pitch on Mother's Day.

Youngen, who lives in Eugene, Ore., played in Indiana for Fort Wayne and South Bend from 1951-54. The zip she got on the throw to the plate Sunday suggests she has some game left.

EXTRA BASES: Willie Bloomquist wasn't at the ballpark. He was with his wife, Lisa, who had gone into labor. ... Hernandez has been cleared to make Tuesday's start, and said he's excited about it as he prepares for his first start since April 18. ... Ichiro Suzuki had two hits and has hit in seven consecutive games to get his batting average up to .286. He's averaging .379 during the seven games.